The most common industries for new US businesses (2025)

In 2025, Americans filed about 5.68 million applications to start a business, and more of them named retail trade than any other industry. Retail drew 1,166,260 applications, about one in five. Professional, scientific and technical services came second with 764,250, and construction third with 519,350. These are our counts from the US Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics, summed by industry for 2025.

Retail trade20.5%

Professional services13.5%

Construction9.1%

Other services8.5%

Admin and support6.7%

Transport and storage6.5%

Health care6.2%

Food and lodging5.3%

Real estate4.8%

Finance and insurance4.1%

Retail trade	20.5%
Professional services	13.5%
Construction	9.1%
Other services	8.5%
Admin and support	6.7%
Transport and storage	6.5%
Health care	6.2%
Food and lodging	5.3%
Real estate	4.8%
Finance and insurance	4.1%

One in five new business applications is in retail trade, and one in eight in professional services.

Source: US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics (2025 sector series), TheCompanyIndex calculation

Which industries draw the most new businesses?

Retail trade leads by a wide margin, followed by professional services and construction. The top three sectors together make up about 43 percent of all applications with a named industry.

The sector totals add to 5,676,650, within 0.1 percent of the Census Bureau’s national figure of 5,683,870 for the year, which confirms the count.

Why is retail trade number one?

The industry on each application is the one the applicant chooses, and retail trade covers more than shops. The sector includes nonstore retail, the category that holds online sellers, so a large part of its lead comes from people registering to sell over the internet. That is why retail trade sits above professional services and construction, which people more often picture when they think of a new company.

Which industries draw the fewest?

The capital-heavy and regulated sectors. Mining, quarrying and oil and gas drew just 5,880 applications in 2025, and utilities 7,550. These are industries that take large upfront investment or licenses, so few people file to start one. Agriculture was next lowest at 47,260.

Do these applications become real businesses?

Not all of them. A business application is a request for an Employer Identification Number, filed before a company hires anyone or earns a dollar. Only a fraction go on to become employer businesses, as our reading of the national series shows. The ranking here measures where people intend to start, by the industry they name on the form.

How the data is grouped

The Census groups each application by its North American Industry Classification System sector, the standard federal industry code. We summed the Census Bureau’s weekly, not-seasonally-adjusted business application series for each sector across the 53 reporting weeks of 2025. About 153,350 applications, or 2.7 percent, carried no clear sector and are grouped as Unclassified, so the shares above are of the classified total. Anyone can repeat the calculation from the public file.

Add your company to the Index

Whatever the industry, once a company is open it can add itself to TheCompanyIndex for free. A person reads every entry before it goes live, and an approved entry gets its own page with a followed link, listed under what the company does.

What this page could not check

• The industry is the one the applicant named on the EIN application, so retail trade’s lead reflects in part the many people who register to sell online. A business application is not an operating business.
• About 153,350 applications (2.7 percent) carried no clear sector and are grouped as Unclassified; the industry shares are of the classified total.
• These are our sums of the 2025 weekly not-seasonally-adjusted series, which carried 53 reporting weeks. Newer data or any reclassification will shift the numbers.
• Each figure is due for a check after May 1, 2027, when newer data is out.

Sources

• US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics, weekly not-seasonally-adjusted business applications by NAICS sector (naics2.csv) and the national file, data through 2026, read November 1, 2026.
• US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics, “About the Data”, “Definitions” and “Methodology” pages, read November 1, 2026.
• US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics, weekly by-industry data page, read November 1, 2026.
• Internal Revenue Service, “Employer Identification Number”, last reviewed July 17, 2026.